Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2022
Intubation During Pediatric Cardiac Arrest in the Emergency Department Is Associated With Reduced First-Pass Success.
Airway compromise and respiratory failure are leading causes of pediatric cardiac arrest making advanced airway management central to pediatric resuscitation. Previous literature has demonstrated that achieving first-pass success (FPS) is associated with fewer adverse events. In cardiac arrest for adult patients, increasing number of intubation attempts is associated with lower likelihood of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and favorable neurologic outcome. There is limited evidence regarding advanced airway management for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study was to compare FPS in pediatric OHCA and non-cardiac arrest patients in the ED. ⋯ In this study, we found that pediatric OHCA is associated with reduced FPS in the ED. Although additional studies are needed, rescuers should prioritize restoring effective oxygenation and ventilation and optimizing intubation conditions before an advanced airway attempt.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2022
Observational StudyAssessment of Iron Status in Adolescents Presenting to the Emergency Department With Heavy Menstrual Bleeding.
Iron deficiency is extremely common in adolescents with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) presenting to the emergency department; however, patients are rarely screened for this. The objective of this study was to evaluate screening for iron deficiency in adolescents presenting to the emergency department for HMB. ⋯ Adolescents presenting to the emergency department with HMB are at significant risk of iron deficiency but are not being screened or treated, which may have significant consequences.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2022
Evaluation of a Pediatric Early Warning Score as a Predictor of Occult Invasive Bacterial Infection in the Pediatric Emergency Department.
The aims of the study were to evaluate the diagnostic performance of Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) to predict occult invasive bacterial infection (IBI) in well-appearing pediatric emergency department (PED) patients without known risk factors for bacterial infection and to compare PEWS to heart rate (HR) and Emergency Severity Index (ESI). ⋯ Subjects with PEWS ≥3 at PED disposition have increased odds of occult IBI; however, PEWS has poor discriminative ability at all cutoffs. We cannot recommend PEWS used in isolation to predict occult IBI.
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Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in children older than 1 year and disproportionately affects pediatric patients in low- and middle-income countries.Improved prehospital care capacity has demonstrated the ability to improve care and save lives. Our collaboration developed and implemented a sustainable prehospital emergency pediatrics care course (EPCC) for Service d'Aide Medicale Urgente, the public emergency medical service in Rwanda. ⋯ This study demonstrates effective implementation of a context-appropriate prehospital pediatric training program in Kigali, Rwanda. This program may be effective to support capacity development for prehospital care in Rwanda using a qualified local source of instructors.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2022
AiRDose: Developing and Validating an Augmented Reality Smartphone Application for Weight Estimation and Dosing in Children.
Inaccurate weight estimation is a contributing factor to medical error in pediatric emergencies, especially in the prehospital setting. Current American Heart Association guidelines recommend the use of length-based weight estimation tools such as the Broselow tape. We developed the AiRDose smartphone application that uses augmented reality to provide length-based weight estimates, as well as medication dosing, defibrillation energy, and equipment sizing recommendations; AiRDose was programmed to use Broselow conversions to obtain these estimates. The primary objective was to compare the length estimated by AiRDose with the actual length obtained by the standard tape measure. The secondary objectives were to compare the estimated weights and critical medication doses from AiRDose with current established methods. ⋯ Anthropometric estimates and medication dose recommendations provided by AiRDose strongly correlate with established techniques. Further study will establish the feasibility of using AiRDose to accurately obtain weight estimates and medication doses for pediatric patients in the prehospital setting.